The Rise of Biblical Counseling
The Rise of Biblical Counseling
“Today, Biblical counseling is a major force among conservative American Protestants. It is so popular, and so widespread, that in 2005 the Southern Baptist Convention’s theological seminaries—the pastoral schools of the largest Protestant denomination in the country—announced a ‘wholesale change of emphasis’ in favor of biblical counseling over an earlier ‘pastoral care’ model that had drawn in part on the behavioral sciences.”
This piece is very obviously a disdainful and highly biased hit-piece. The treatment is unbalanced and shows no sympathy at all for the subject. Why did she not interview John Babler at Southwestern for instance? He has a doctorate in clinical psychology I believe. Several of the contributors to the book ‘Counseling the Hard Cases’ are Board-certified psychologists. Why does she not see fit to mention it? Or why not seek out Ab Abercrombie, who used to run a multi-staffed clinic of licensed psychologists, and ask him why he changed his mind? Short answer: he told me worldly methods didn’t work! This is poor reporting. This young woman wants to “get on” and one way to do it is to pick on evangelical Christians.
Dr. Paul Henebury
I am Founder of Telos Ministries, and Senior Pastor at Agape Bible Church in N. Ca.
The mental health professionals I’ve talked to and read (admittedly not a huge number, but more than one or two) recognize that approaches that deal only with brain chemistry and observable, quantifiable “scientific” data and ignore the soul (some use vaguer terms… mysteries of nonmaterial etc.) are inadequate in themselves. The author doesn’t seem to attach any serious weight to that. If she did, the biblical idea would not seem as far fetched as she seems to think.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
For those unaware of the case, the background info on Kenneth McNally is helpful.
Here’s the California Supreme Court ruling:
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